Tedhead

Of course it's a coup. Suthep and the reds couldn't get power via the ballot box, they couldn't get it via the courts, so now they return to their usual tactic of last resort, the military coup.

It's what the military want, it's what the palace wants and it's what the judiciary wants. The problem is, it isn't what the Thai people want. The Democrats have lost every election for the past twenty years. So what happens when military rule is rescinded and fresh elections are held?

The reds' party - in whatever incarnation - will win. And then what? Another judicial coup? Another military coup?

Bloodshed, rinse, repeat.

Yadda yadda yadda. Suthep stokes up the anger and violence and then, after much bombast and belligerence and a thousand demands, a fresh election is held.

The Democrats lose again.

Then what?

What do I know, but here are my thoughts. Thailand is not a democracy, it is a constitutional monarcy. However, the voting process is supposed to be the foundation of the democratic side of the government. The voting structure and accountability is a joke. I do not believe anyone can argue against that. For a few Baht anyone will vote for whom ever they are told to vote for. Is that really democracy? Elections are a fraud.

Until elections are properly governed and honest how can any party feel it is legitimate?

Thailand is not ready for true democracy, in my opinion. Suthep may have his history and all, but the idea of reforms before elections seems to be a way to true democracy. Get people who truly care about Thailand to sit down and talk about what needs to be done and think about it how it can be done.

Its difficult not to mention political names, but when a PM successfully changes tax laws that favors him, and not the country he governs, before a major business deal takes place screams for reform.

Thais want democracy, but most do not know what it really is.

Parties need to sit down and talk about real issues and Chuwit should be at the table, as well, to tell the real truth about the corruption and the real issues in Thailand. He, the corrupt one, should be the mouthpiece.

Maybe some eyes will open up and democracy will have a chance.

Everything you say is true, but here's the thing. Neither I, nor you, or a boy named Sue get to choose the results of democratic elections. That's the damnable thing about democracy. Elections are not exercises in sagacity, perspicuity or taste. They're popularity contests and if you don't like the results of this one, then win the next one.

As for the 'not ready for democracy' argument, you could make that self-same argument as forcefully, perhaps more forcefully, about the American electorate who saw fit to elect George W. Bush twice with all the global ramifications that his election ended up having. (We could also note about the 2000 election that it's not just the Thai judiciary that gets involved in tipping the scales in a particular direction). We could further note the multi-billion dollar corruption of Cheney, Halliburton and government contracts.

Yet no one suggested the suspension of American democracy. Because that would, well, ludicrous.

Whenever the topic of an election comes up, accusations are made about vote buying. Some have alleged that 300 - 500 baht are paid for each vote. Well, if 15 million people voted for PT, and each vote got only 100 baht, that comes out to 1 Billion, Five Hundred Million Baht (1,500,000,000 BT) or about Fifty Million Dollars (USD). I don't think even Doctor T would willingly part with that much scratch, especially if were crystal clear that his side was going to win handily.

If only a third of the votes were bought @ 300 Bt, the end amount is still the same. Now, I know it is a fact that some people are paid for their votes. My wife said this was quite common in her home village in Isaan, although not universal, and not coerced.

There's probably an error in my thinking here, and I'm sure some of you will be glad to set me straight.

I know the topic wasn't about vote buying, but the radical Dem element is threatening to boycott the election, and this charge always comes up.

Thaksin didn't create the political climate of corruption, he inherited it and continued a decades-long tradition.

The Democrat Party pretty much invented corruption in Thai politics and that includes vote buying.

International observers alleged systematic and widespread Democrat vote-buying in Hat Yai and Trang in the eighties and nineties - direct money for votes - onto which they layered the shovelling of of government contracts to influential supporters and the parcelling out of land, such as occurred on Phuket and brought down one of the last elected Democrat governments in the eighties.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/20459/the-democrats-vote-buying-and-suthep/

It's all starting to unravel for Suthep and it's barely just begun.

Suthep got people out on the street, to overturn the result (and government) of a free, democratic election.

Suthep succeeded in getting that freely elected government to stand down and call fresh elections.

And now...

Suthep knows that if they have fresh elections, he'll lose. This wild speculation is based on the fact that the party that serves his interests has lost every election for the past two decades.

So Suthep wants something, but he doesn't want another defeat at the ballot box.

So what is it Suthep wants? Why cause all this upheaval if you can't win the support of the majority of ordinary Thai people? And why now?

The answer to all these things is that Suthep sees that, at long last, the Bangkok elite and its constituent parts, had decided to let the will of the people (much though some here might despise its judgement) run its course.

The Bangkok elite had apparently quietly decided that it was getting ludicrous - and internationally, looking ludicrous - to keep banning, dissolving and otherwise impeding the winners of each election. They may not like it (they certainly didn't) but at some point it becomes impossible to maintain the pretense of a modern liberal democracy if the results of elections are never honoured.

So Suthep gets his own rent-a-mob onto the streets and starts agitating for a non-democratic solution to his problem. it wouldn't matter if Mother Teresa and all the saints in heaven were seated opposite him, Suthep doesn't want to engage in any negotiations that give him less reason and ability to contest the results of elections in the future.

The rent-a-mob are there to provoke the Bangkok elite to, once again, interfere in the democratic process when it appears to Suthep that recently they had decided not to.

Suthep's endgame is the suspension of democracy and the installation of a pseudo-democratic unelected council. It has to be, because he keeps losing at the alternative.

Planning the next coup already, over tea and biscuits. Nice.

Top brass, meet brass neck.

Of course Pheu Thai will win the next election.

And then what will Suthep do? Simple enough question.

"The protest leaders have said that they would not be satisfied with new elections"

That pretty much tells you anything you need to know about the THUGS...they will only be satisfied if THEY get to hand pick THEIR people to go to the trough and the hell with what the thai voters want. The taksin clan isn't the only bunch of ELITES in Thailand who want to run things to line their pockets....but at least the current government was elected and not appointed by some back room bunch of THUGS who will never ever be satisfied with any election..they haven't won an election since 1992 which should tell you that the people of Thailand ain't buying what they are selling.

I totally agree. This is the insanity of it all. A democratically elected government is not allowed to govern. The democratically elected government offers to resign and hold new elections. Not good enough for the opposition. Why? Because the opposition knows that it will lose its 5th election in a row and the current government will be returned to office.

Here's the thing. I think that the Democrat Party stinks. Historically, it pretty much invented corruption, including vote buying, but also major funnelling of cash, contracts and land zoning. But I also think that the PTP stinks. Thaksin uses it as a vehicle for his own interests and if some country folk benefit along the way, that's pretty much incidental.

The point is it doesn't matter a dam_n what you, I or the dogs in the street think of Abhisit or Thaksin. What matters is democracy. If the Democrats don't like the election results, rather than trying to abolish democracy itself, it should try formulating policies that are more attractive to a larger group of people. You know...enough to win an election.

The judiciary needs to butt out, the military needs to butt out and all the vested interests need to respect the results of elections. It's time for Thailand to grow up as a modern democracy.

Here's an odd one. After reading this thread, I did some googling (ooh missus).

The Thai language is not supported on new iPod Classics:

http://www.apple.com/ipodclassic/specs.html

But - it appears - that the Thai language is supported on the new i Pod Nanos:

http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/specs.html

And it is supported on iPod Touchs:

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/specs.html

And it is supported on iPhones:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

My question still remains as to what 'supported' means in this context. Surely if you can have the menus all in Thai - and I saw that much on an iPod Nano today, that means that song titles in Thai fonts will also display. But I'm taking nothing for granted, and I'd like to hear from someone who's bought an iPod Nano, Touch or iPhone recently whether it displays song titles in Thai script.

Why should the Classic be the odd one out? I'm guessing because it's now relatively old stock and they're not going to bother upgrading them with new firmware/software.

I just want to double check the situation on new iPods. I was looking at a new iPod Nano in a shop here in Ireland. More in hope than expectation, I asked if it supported the Thai language. The shop assistant went to the Main Menu>>>Settings>>>Language and - to my surprise - there was Thai in the menu. My 3 year old iPod Classic gets regular updates but doesn't have Thai as an option.

So I now know that i can buy an iPod for my g/f and it will at least have the menus in Thai. But the most important question - and one I still don't have the answer to - is will it now recognize song titles/CD names in Thai script at long last?

I voted "Army and police should adopt same tactics as they used for lawless yellow protestors previously - just let them walk into whatever government/public buildings they wish, shrug shoulders and say "Whoops! Nothing we can do."

Easy to pick on the farang on TV but in my experience (when I used to stay out late) was the accidents I invariably saw at 2:00 am in a taxi on the way home were those of local persuasion crunching up their BMW 3 series or similar trying to impress their gal after too many Black Sodas.

I think the point is that, whatever about Thai people never having to been brought to task over drink-driving, Europeans/Aussies/Americans are well aware of the consequences of drunk-driving, have lived in societies where it is severely dealt with, and should know better.

I think the OP's right to ask the question about the type of farang in Thailand that drink-drive. Many aren't exactly out of the top social drawer at home and their sense of social responsibility only holds for as long as it's enforced upon them. There have probably always been the thoughts in their head that "These drink-driving laws are ridiculous...I can handle my beer...Odds of a pile-up are miniscule...never happen to me...."

Basically, they're idiots at home and they're idiots abroad. The change of air doesn't increase their IQ and the lax law enforcement brings allows them to dispense with a sense of social responsibility.

Call me a dangerous revolutionary if you like, but the Potato King of Siam could always offer something in addition to whole potatoes (the operation sounds like a Thai Spud-Khun-Like), thus utilizing the smaller spuds. Avant garde stuff like wedges and mash.

But maybe...that's what...they want you to do..........

Incidentally, he still hasn't explained why, if he exercises portion control in his own premises, he doesn't expect other businesses to do it in theirs. A regular amount of coke per serving, for example.

And nothing is ever free. You are paying. Dearly.

True, but Americans are paying more for healthcare per capita than any other country in the world. So much for the terrible cost of 'socialized medicine' - or universal healthcare as a lot of people prefer to call it.

U.S. Still Spends More on Health Care than Any Other Country

I think it's understandable that if you travel half-way across the world to live somewhere else, that people would assume that you have done so because you prefer the country you have moved to in preference to either the country you came from or the dozens of others you flew over to get there.

Now, in reality, many people move for reasons of work or family. As first-generation Irish growing up in England, I found that the immediate reaction of many people to any criticism of Britain was "Well, if you don't like it 'ere, you can fahhhk off back where you came from." Err...fine, but where I 'came from' was where we were standing, having the conversation. Eventually, I took their advice and fahhked off back to where my parents came from - Ireland. The people are more relaxed (although that's changed in recent years and now most people are as career-driven and stressed as anywhere else) and it's just a more pleasant environment to while away the years.

Point is, I don't find myself amazed when the natives are proud and/or protective of their own country, and that instinct is universal, not peculiarly Thai. Try living in middle America and telling them "Meh. It's okay here."

Incidentally, having had shares in a restaurant here in Ireland, we only used the Asian cash and carries (I believe Makro is a c&c) for stuff like coconut milk, chili flakes etc. All fruit and vegetables were bought from wholesalers; they're cheaper and the stuff is fresher. Why buy potatoes from a c&c?

Following up on metisdead's point, do you have portion control in your restaurant? If you do, why do you have it and expect other businesses not to?

I hope you have also noticed that PM Abhisit is getting tougher and tougher regarding corruption and he's even removed people from his own party from high positions (unheard of in the past), and he's progressively getting tougher and demanding accountability from the police etc., also unheard of in the past.

So why hasn't Abhisit removed his Deputy Prime Minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, who had to resign as an MP in 2009, before he was banned? Abhisit is keeping the old crook as the party's number two.

When the 2nd most powerful man in the party is a known grafter and he's left in his position of authority at the right hand of Abhisit, just how far does Abhisit's crusade against corruption extend?

Abhisit hasn't removed Suthep because Suthep is his pitbull dog. In Thai politics it's a dog eat dog world and Abhisit is not that tough so Suthep takes the pressure of him. Chalerm had the same role for PPP. Bush had Cheney. Obama has Rahm Emmanuel. Does this help you understand?

I understand completely the desirability of having a political rottweiler, but that wasn't my question. My question was, how can someone characterize Abhisit as rooting out corruption wherever it rears its ugly head when the second most important man in the party is as bent as a nine bob note?

I hope you have also noticed that PM Abhisit is getting tougher and tougher regarding corruption and he's even removed people from his own party from high positions (unheard of in the past), and he's progressively getting tougher and demanding accountability from the police etc., also unheard of in the past.

So why hasn't Abhisit removed his Deputy Prime Minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, who had to resign as an MP in 2009, before he was banned? Abhisit is keeping the old crook as the party's number two.

When the 2nd most powerful man in the party is a known grafter and he's left in his position of authority at the right hand of Abhisit, just how far does Abhisit's crusade against corruption extend?

Incidentally, assuming the OP is working with a Mac and an iPod, once you've put in a tick in the "Prevent iPod & iPhones from syncing automatically" box in Preferences (or hold down Command + Option), the iPod will connect and put up an iPod icon onto your desktop, something I don't think happened previously.

I've seen it suggested that once you've knocked off automatic sync, then it's as simple (on a Mac anyway) as clicking on the iPod icon on your desktop, highlighting the "Music" folder in there (or "Music" + "Video" folders if you have both) and dragging them into iTunes. iTunes then copies them.

Worth a try as it seems the simplest method and requires no software, just drag and drop. And possibly it could work in a very similar way if you have iPod + PC.